What Harry Potter Doesn't Know
by QueenGen
Summary: An unexpected rivalry, an unexpected prank, an unexpected love, and Stephen Cornfoot. Somehow, it all makes sense...eventually.


**_What Harry Potter Doesn't Know_  
**by, QueenGen

**Disclaimer:** I am, in fact, not J.K. Rowling, part of Scholastic books or Warner Bros. Therefore, I do not write this story for any other reason than my own, and hopefully your, amusement.

**Warning:** Hetero-sexuality. O.O; Hahaha, oh and also there are some curse words, a little pre-death, some creative pranks, and quite a lot of ridiculousness. Um, the books don't really have much to do with the plot, so I would say knowing up to Goblet of Fire's alright. If the story exceeds that, I apologize. Beware of inconsistancies and we'll all be great.

**Pairing:** Well you'll just have to read and find out! (or look at the pairing I put on the story -cough cough-)

**Summary:** An unexpected rivalry, an unexpected prank, an unexpected love, and Stephen Cornfoot. Somehow, it all makes sense...eventually.

and finally:

**Author's Note:** By jove, she's done it again. There's really nothing I can say that hasn't been said. So let the games begin!

All wizards and witches who attended the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry know about the rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor. It is as understood as the color of the sky: no one questions it, no one provokes it, it is simply accepted. However, because the rivalry between those two houses is so publicized people tend to forget about the other two houses: Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. They are houses that mostly keep to their own business, staying away from the spotlight, finding a way to make themselves the happiest they could in a less glorified way. But there is something that is often misunderstood about Hogwarts. The average magical person often makes the mistake of thinking that Slytherin and Gryffindor have the epitome of rivalry. However, those who are Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs know something that other wizards and witches don't know.

The House of the Badger and of the Raven had been in a battle of wits since the day Rowena Ravenclaw poured love potion into Helga Hufflepuff's pumpkin juice at a Welcoming Feast. The potion spurred poor Helga into declaring undying love to the first person she saw, which happened to be the Fat Friar. Once out of her spell, she was utterly embarrassed by Rowena's prank and proceeded casting an _Accio_ on all of the Ravenclaw Founder's books to go into the lake. Ever since that day, there has been hardly a day go by that a chance at a prank is passed up on from either house.

However, much has changed within the past few weeks in the pleasant rivalry. That something made them question their roles in continuing the upstanding tradition. Normally, just one thing wouldn't stop the ever loyal Hufflepuffs or the analytical Ravenclaws, but it was hardly expected. How could they predict two of them would fall in love?

* * *

"Ernie, Come _on_!" Hannah Abbot shouted from the common room. She was feeling rather tired after studying for her NEWTs. Why did they need to do tests like those anyway? She supposed they must be important in some way, but she just wasn't very good at testing, which made the entire thing much, much worse. "I swear you're worse than me sometimes. Stop fixing your hair and let's go!" Ernie came stumbling out into the common room, looking slicked back as usual.

"What're you in such a rush for?" Ernie grumbled. He wasn't much of a morning person.

"No reason," Hannah replied innocently, though it sounded like a very wicked kind of innocent indeed. Ernie couldn't help but raise his brows, but didn't question his best friend's antics, finding it in his best interests to keep quiet on such things. Instead he smiled in an equally conspiratorial way and they both left the common room to go to breakfast.

They were almost done with breakfast, and Ernie wondered if he should simply _ask_ his friend why she was being so secretive, when his patience finally paid off. He'd chanced to look over at the Ravenclaw table to see Stephen Cornfoot getting very red in the face, looking down at what Ernie realized was a house elf. He looked over at Hannah who was barely holding in her giggles. Unable to help smiling himself, he turned to watch the scene unfold.

"Get away from me!" Stephen cried, shifting away from the offending house elf.

"But, Master Cornfoot, you mustn't feel ashamed," the house elf admonished.

"I'm not ashamed! You're deranged, that's what you are!" he declared. Still Blinky, a determined house elf if there ever was one, stood firm.

"Please, sir. Calm down. I won't tell anyone of your attachment." Blinky reached out to pat Stephen's hand. "Your secret is safe with me." Unless Ernie was dreaming it up, he swore he saw the overly-large eyes blink in a way that was nearly flirtacious. This just got much more interesting.

"Listen, I don't know who told you that, but it's all lies, lies!" Stephen Cornfoot was often one to get a bit flustered. He also wore glasses that were ridiculously large and kept falling off of his face. He pushed the sliding lenses up to rest on the bridge of his nose only for the spectacles to slide down his nose further. Pushing them up a last time he shook his finger at the confused house-elf. "Just leave me alone!"

"What is going on, Stephen?" his friend, Anthony Goldstein, asked rather concerned, though perhaps amused would be the more appropriate term.

"I don't know!" Cornfoot replied stomping his foot in an obvious display of frustration. Ernie observed that the boy only spoke in exclamation. "For some reason, this bloody house elf is telling me that I'm in love with her!" Obviously, that was the wrong thing to say. Cornfoot seemed to realize this as well as giggles erupted from the Hufflepuff table. Again, Ernie looked at his best friend, and saw Hannah beaming. That could only mean one thing.

"Hannah, you're terrible!" he scolded, though it was blatantly half-hearted.

"I know," she replied, not sounding the least ashamed, and heartily joined in on a rendition of "Stephen and Blinky sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Ernie laughed with the rest of the Hufflepuff boys as they got up and began their way to their classes. But what he didn't see was Terry Boot looking, not at Stephen Cornfoot, but at Hannah Abbot as she packed up her things and walked out of the Great Hall, with a look on his face that was most curious.

* * *

"Stupid Hufflepuffs, I _hate_ Hufflepuffs! That wasn't even a funny prank! There were no "Ha-has" or "Righto! What a jolly good lark!" No! All it was about was me being embarrassed by a bloody house-elf! Stupid stupid stupid!" Stephen Cornfoot cried as he went on his not-so-happy way to his first class. He was flanked by Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot.

"Wait, what are Hufflepuffs? Sorry, I didn't hear you before," Anthony remarked flippantly.

"Honestly, Stephen, you must calm down with the exclamations. Use some other punctuation mark, like a question mark or a period. It adds variety to your sentences," Terry Boot drawled out rather expertly, looking over his books idly as they walked.

"I hate you both," Stephen remarked, looking rather flustered. Of course, being the good friends they were, Anthony and Terry both eased up on their friend and let him brood.

"So who do you think did it?" Anthony inquired Terry curiously. However, they were interrupted when Michael Corner caught up to them, looking rather out of sorts, his robes all over the place and his hair a mess.

"Hey," he said shortly, joining the group. "I heard about the prank this morning. Brilliant, if you ask me. Oh! Sorry Stephen," he added as he just realized that the still-fuming Stephen Cornfoot could hear him quite well only a few steps in front of them. The boy simply huffed and walked faster ahead of them.

"You still haven't answered my question, Boot," Anthony added, quietly. Terry wondered whether he should tell the boy who he was pretty certain had done it or whether he should lie. Going for the latter, he simply shrugged, re-shouldering his bag in the process. "I guess it doesn't matter," Anthony continued. "Whoever it was, though, pulled it off very well. I admit I'm surprised. I didn't know that Hufflepuffs could be cunning."

Terry Boot had looked a bit distant for a moment before adding in a murmur, "Neither did I."

* * *

Ernie didn't get to confront Hannah about the prank that morning until lunch. "How did you pull off _that_ stunt?" he asked, jerking his head towards a still rather red-faced Stephen Cornfoot. Hannah smiled in her familiar, giddy way.

"Well," she said, always willing to give out her secrets to her best friend. "I was in the kitchen getting a snack with Blinky's help. And it just hit me, right there. I told her that Stephen Cornfoot was in love with her." She giggled, "Of course, she was utterly frightened of the prospect of a student falling in love with her. So I told her if she just confronted Stephen about it, then it would all be okay."

Ernie shook his head. "Are you sure you didn't hurt Blinky's feelings?" he asked, feeling a bit tender for the house-elf who had been lead so astray by Hannah's prank.

"Oh, no I don't think so," Hannah suddenly stopped to think for a moment before shame colored her cheeks a bit. "I didn't even think of that. Oh dear, what if she's hurt?" she asked. Biting her lip she looked down at her plate, not feeling very hungry anymore, although she did manage to take another bite of her sandwich before continuing. "I didn't want to hurt her. I just wanted to have a little fun." Ernie gave Hannah a sympathetic smile. He knew the girl was very kind and sweet, and wouldn't do such a thing to be hurtful. Well, to Stephen Cornfoot maybe, but he was a Ravenclaw so that was acceptable. "Oh Ernie, I feel so rotten!" His friend was a bit prone to crying, and he knew that this might be one of those times the waterworks would start so he quickly wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug, patting her precious blonde head as a means of comfort.

"Don't worry," he told her as she let out a few sniffles against his robes. "Just go say you're sorry to her, and everything will be okay." Hannah stayed tucked in his arms for a bit and then she pulled away, wiping her eyes.

"Okay," she said, still sounding a bit weepy, but wearing a smile all the same. Ernie knew she'd do what she needed to set everything to rights, so didn't worry as he took a large gulp from his goblet of pumpkin juice. The next period was a study period for most of the Hufflepuff Seventh Years, but being Head Boy meant that he had to take more classes to stay in top intellectual condition. Giving a peck on the top of Hannah's head as she continued eating her lunch, Ernie hurried out of the hall to make his way to Advanced Arithmacy.

Hannah took another helping of chips, wrapping them up in a napkin to eat on her way to the common room. She stopped, however, when she reached the entrance and looked towards the kitchens. Popping a chip in her mouth and relishing its salty taste, she stared at the kitchen portrait before starting to walk towards it. She was stopped, however, by a voice behind her.

"Don't you think you have enough food?" Hannah turned her body and found herself facing a boy in blue trimmed robes: a Ravenclaw. She recognized him as Terry Boot, and her eyes narrowed slightly at him. She realized she was alone with who was known as one of the slyest Ravenclaws in their entire house.

She remembered hearing a story from Laura Madley that she'd been working in a study group with some of her friends from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff in her first year. "He just pops out of nowhere!" she moaned that night when she came back to the common room, still shaken. "I was walking back from the group when he just came up behind me and told me that I hadn't gotten any of the questions right on the homework we'd just done. Of course, I told him to bugger off, and he did. When I got my homework back, we all got an incomplete because we got all the questions wrong. How did he know? He's so eerie." Hannah popped another chip in her mouth to ward off the nervousness.

"Huh?" was the only intelligent reply she could offer. However, it seemed enough for the boy as he stepped forward to stand closer to her. Terry Boot was handsome. He had sandy blonde hair that hung loose and far enough for him to have to occasionally brush his bangs out of his soft, blue eyes. He also had lovely, long black eyelashes. He was rather skinny, which was probably due to the bookish lifestyle he led. Hufflepuff first years often remarked how they ate paper and ink instead of regular food due to the amount of time they spent studying in the library. He wasn't wafer thin though, just tall and slim, which made him just that much more attractive. What Hannah most liked about Boot was his hands, which were big and warm looking. She popped another chip in her mouth. Yes, Terry Boot was most definitely a hottie, but that meant nothing in the long run. Hannah found a lot of boys attractive, but all that meant was that she liked their outer appearance. It took much more for her to decide if there was real beauty behind the pretty faces, rounded posteriors, and muscular arms.

Terry Boot gave her a rather distasteful look, but when he spoke he was on a decidedly different subject. "So, this morning was quite interesting."

Hannah fought back a small grin at the thought of her achievement this morning and gave a small nod. "It was."

A thoughtful expression passed Boot's face. "But I suppose it was rather amateur really." Hannah's mouth dropped.

"Amateur? It was great!" she huffed. Boot rolled his eyes.

"Yes, yes, it was great. But honestly, falling in love with a house-elf? How uncreative can you be?" he replied.

"I thought it was very creative. I bet you wouldn't have thought of it. Not that I did it," she added as an afterthought. She may have been dreaming it, but Hannah swore she saw a glitter of amusement in the boy's eye before he spoke and the haughtiness returned.

"Of course you didn't," he replied, sounding rather flat. "But in any case, I must say I'm finding myself a bit bored with the Hufflepuff pranks this year. I remember them at least being respectable last year, but now, they barely pull off being cute."

"Cute?!" Hannah gasped. "You call our pranks cute. You don't know nothing, you stuck-up bookworm."

"Ouch," Boot replied, looking hardly hurt at all, if only a bit bored. "Well maybe you should prove me wrong then."

"I will!" she said, feeling a bit huffy. Hardly realizing she was being goaded, she added, "I bet I can come up with better pranks than you can."

"Really, now?" the other replied, sounding at least somewhat interested. "You think you can compare to me at pranks, do you?"

"Compare? Ha! I'll leave you in the dust!" Hannah said confidently.

"Well, if you're so confident," Terry Boot stepped forward. The distance between them was slim as he reached out a hand and took a chip from her grasp, still warm. The proximity made Hannah's eyes nearly cross, but she stood firm, clutching her chips possessively after the kidnapping of one of them. "Let the games begin."

And then he was walking away, taking a bite of his chip. It took a moment for Hannah to realize what she'd gotten herself into. The scariest Ravenclaw was now planning her ultimate demise, and what was worse? She inflicted it upon herself. She ate her chips even faster until they were gone and found herself with a bit of a stomach ache. Standing, unsure what to do, she felt a bit bereft. It wasn't until she saw another Hufflepuff striding towards the common room that she remembered her prior task and went into the kitchens to make her apology to Blinky.

* * *

It started with Potions on Tuesday morning. Hufflepuffs shared the class with the Ravenclaws. Hannah had forgotten all about the encounter the other day and had been walking in quite happily with Ernie, when she sat down a rather loud noise went off.

_PBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBLLLLLLTTTTTT!_

She had made the mistake of not looking down before she sat and therefore found herself sitting on the classics of pranks: a whoopee cushion. She picked up the now flattened rubber tool and turned to scowl at the right side of the room which had flared up in giggles and snickers. She found Terry's gaze, looking at her with a bit of smug amusement.

Oh it was _on_!

* * *

In the Great Hall, Terry had sat down to eat a bit of dinner before attending the weekly transfiguration study session. He glanced down at his plate and saw what seemed to be a custard cream, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that Weasley's Wizard Wheezes had the very famous canary creams that students got on April Fools Day for free from the two Weasley brothers ever since they'd opened shop.

Smirking to himself, he traded the custard with the boy next to him, who happened to be Stephen Cornfoot. He took a triumphant bite out of the dessert and looked up to find Hannah Abbot watching him with a rather smug gleam in her eye. That couldn't be good. In only a few seconds, he found himself in the body of a canary, cursing his idiocy. He moulted back into a human in a few short moments. _Hufflepuffs aren't supposed to be clever_ he thought to himself. _I underestimated her._

_Obviously, I won't make that mistake again._

Ernie had been looking for Hannah for quite a while now and he was getting worried. Finally, he went to Susan Bones, who was knitting in the common room and asked her if she'd seen Hannah anywhere. "Oh yes, I saw her in the bathroom poor thing."

"Poor thing?" he asked, silently asking for details.

"Well yes. To be frank, she was practically puking her brains out. She groaned something about those 'damn puking pastilles'." Susan shrugged and promptly went back to her knitting. "Oh, bother. I dropped a stitch."

* * *

Anthony Goldstein was being very productive, as he was wont to do. In fact, he was doing his very familiar routine of multi-tasking. He was writing his transfiguration essay while practicing an advanced levitation charm and studying for his next potions exam. Of course, that was a bit less than what he was used to, but sometimes there just wasn't enough work to fully occupy him.

He looked up when he saw his friend, Terry Boot enter, looking rather grim. "Hey, Terry," he said in a friendly way. However, it didn't seem to break the grimace on his friend's face.

"Hi," Terry replied shortly.

"What's wrong?" Anthony asked.

"Nothing, nothing's wrong. What are you doing?" Anthony had just begun telling the other about his very drawn out plan for his evening when he realized less than halfway through that the other wasn't really paying attention.

"Really, Terry, what is the matter. You seem all tense and, it seems you're turning a bit of a nasty color really. Do you need to find the toilet?" he asked. He was willing to help his friend and he was beginning to look a bit peaky, he seemed to be getting red all over, and he was shifting quite a bit as if he had…hm. "Terry," he said in a whisper, leaning in. "Do you have gas?"

"What?!" Terry shouted. Hearing multiple rounds of irritated "Shhhh!" Terry quieted but he shook his head. "No, I don't-I don't have _gas_ thank you," he said tightly. Then suddenly something seemed to catch his eye. Anthony followed the other's gaze but all he saw was one of the Hufflepuff girls in their year, Hannah Abbot, doing some sort of school work. Then she looked up, and he watched as the two of them held an intense sort of staring competition before she broke into a smile and picked up her wand, giving it a little flick. Terry's eyes widened, and Anthony could swear he heard some sort of noise coming from the boy that was from his lower region. "Terry, what's-."

"I'm fine!" he shouted, ignoring the second round of shushing. He shot out of his seat and ran off before Anthony could call him back. His gaze floated back to Hannah Abbot, but all that she was doing was a bit of homework with a large smile on her face. Happy to find someone so in love with her studies as he was to be smiling at it so much, he happily went back to work.

* * *

Now there's something that many people don't know about Hufflepuff. Actually, there's a lot that people don't know. It's a house where very little seems to happen and has only a few people come out of it that manage to land anything more than a government job. But things are not always what they appear. While Gryffindor is known for its fool-hardy bravery, Slytherin for its manipulating cunning, and Ravenclaw for its studious concentration, Hufflepuff is known to throw the wildest parties that Hogwarts has ever seen.

It was two weeks before winter holiday, and the Hufflepuff House decided, as a whole, that they could not wait any longer to plan their annual Christmas Bash. So, choosing a day, they began to plan. Hannah and Ernie were in charge of the decorations, as they tended to be every year.

"I really think the theme should be poinsettias this year," Hannah argued with Ernie, who was wrinkling his nose rather distastefully at the thought.

"A flower?" he asked, snorting a bit. "I won't have any theme that I work on be about stupid, ugly flowers."

"But we did the theme you wanted last year!" Hannah argued.

"Yes, because the eggnog theme was the best idea we've ever had doing this thing," Ernie reminded. Hannah had to concede defeat there. With the help of the house-elves, they were able to get a few small fountains which they made to circulate eggnog through them. The common room was littered with potpourri in the shape of cinnamon sticks and everything smelled sweet and warm. Along with the twinkling fairy lights that Hannah got from her mother, they littered the walls with garlands of holly which looked fresh and alive once the entire room was lit up in the twinkling lights. It had been quite a hit last year, especially in comparison to the Frosty theme, from which they were still finding bits of white Styrofoam in the oddest places.

However, thinking back on her mother, she couldn't help but sag a little bit. Ernie, alarmed, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and asked what was the matter. "Sorry," she murmured. She licked her lips a moment before shakily adding, "I guess my mum won't be helping this year." Her mother had helped every year before.

"Hannah," Ernie said, forgetting about the party for a moment and enveloping her in the best hug he could muster. Tucking her head into his shoulder, she took a few deep breaths and tried to get her emotions under control. "It's okay to cry if you want," he told her softly.

"No," she replied, quiet and muffled against his shoulder. Slowly she pulled her head away but allowed Ernie to keep his arms around her as she leaned against him. "I should be able to think about her without-without feeling so-," she was interrupted by a sniffle. She reached an arm up through Ernie's grasp to wipe at her face. Ernie grabbed the hand and squeezed it, petting his best friend's hair.

"She would want you to have fun planning this, like we always do," Ernie murmured. He yearned to comfort his friend, and knew that any mention of the girl's mother always made her quiet. Knowing he could never be so strong to stand so gravely at the face of such a loss, he gave her hand another squeeze. "If you ever want to talk about it, I'm here."

A few more minutes later, Hannah pried herself from Ernie's hold, wiping her face of any remaining tears. She seemed to have gotten over her spell of grief only looking a bit worse for wear. "Alright, well since you don't like my poinsettia idea, Mister Eggnog, what do you suggest we do?" Ernie grinned and looked back down at the piece of parchment they were writing their ideas on.

"Um," he said, frowning a bit as he thought. "Well, I don't know actually." Hannah and he broke into identical smiles, then continued to collaborate about the theme.

In the end, it all worked out and by the night of the party, the entire common room was made up to look like a gingerbread house. The bricks had been altered with the help of Professor McGonnagol and Professor Sprout to look like baked cookie blocks instead of cold, stone bricks. The furniture also took on the appearance of being edible, without being so, and the paintings in the room were busy cooking gingerbread cookies of their own. Hannah was rather proud that she'd come up with the idea this year, and had gotten high praise and approval from her head of house at the creativity of the idea.

And then the festivities began. One thing to remember about a Hufflepuff party is that it is never complete without a dance floor, sneaked in alcohol, and an appearance of the Fat Friar doing the Cha Cha Slide. Of course, this year was spiced up a little when a little first-year named Tristan Specks tried a bit of the special punch which resulted in him dry-humping nearly every girl on the dance floor. It got even more exciting when he attempted to jump Susan Bones which resulted in his making her drop a stitch in her knitting. This resulted in a tumult of gingerbread, knitting needles, and drunken first-years flying into the air.

Hannah and Ernie were having the best of times. Those who were running the music had encountered a bit of English and American muggle pop culture over their summer and decided to introduce the rest of their classmates to it. It was nice, since they'd also managed to have a board made up that would show the names of the songs and their singer.

It was while a song entitled "Disturbia" by Rihanna had come and past that Hannah decided she needed to go outside of the common room for a moment, if only to escape the heat that was inevitable to build up with so many dancing, sweaty bodies. Making sure Ernie knew what she was doing, she went outside into the hallway and felt, already, her body temperature cooling.

Leaning against the wall, she smiled serenely in accomplishment and relief that the decorations went over well. It seemed that everyone liked them, and some people even tried to eat the furniture and the walls. With a laugh, she looked down at the cookie she'd been able to grab on the way out and took a bite. It was soft, just the way she liked her cookies. "Mm," she said, feeling content.

"Isn't it rather late to be alone?" a voice asked to her left. Her hand spasmed and, unfortunately, dropped her cookie in the moment of being startled. Quickly her head turned to see that it was Terry Boot, once again confronting her in front of the Hufflepuff entryway.

"I could ask the same of you," she replied, brushing off her hands and picking up the cookie to put in her pocket, and standing up. She'd find a place to throw it out later. Terry rolled his eyes.

"Give me the cookie," he commanded, holding out his hand.

"What? Why?" she asked. He reached into his pocket and pulled out what turned out to be a handkerchief and, without asking again, she put the cookie in his hand. He proceeded to wrap it up and put it into his own pocket. "What's that for?"

"Well I would like to think that you don't want crumbs on your outfit." Pausing, he took a step further away from her and scanned her critically with his eyes. She felt herself begin to blush under his scrutiny and was unable to find anything to do with her hands. "You're rather dressed up, aren't you?"

She_ was_ a bit dressed up. After all, a party isn't a party without getting dressed up! She'd chosen to wear a white, long-sleeved shirt with a blouse over it. Luckily, the blouse put more emphasis on her generous bosom than her stomach and made her look rather curvy, or so she hoped. She wore a skirt underneath it, glad that at least her legs weren't too hefty to make such a thing unpleasant. It was the same red as her blouse, with frills at the bottom and pockets on the side. She wore white stockings and black boots, and had also managed to find some sparkling red ribbon to tie up her pigtails with. Around her neck rest a gold chain, with a small charm of a heart on it. Biting her lip, her gaze drifted to the ground, unsure whether to accept what Boot had said as a compliment or just more disdainful commentary.

Clearing her throat, she replied, "Um, well tonight is the Hufflepuff Christmas Bash." She tried to sound cheerful but had the distinct feeling she sounded more like she was trying to defend herself.

"Ah, of course, you Hufflepuffs are quite infamous for your parties," Boot replied. It was quiet for a minute. "I've always wondered. Does the Fat Friar really-,"

"Do the Cha Cha Slide every year?" she finished for him. Boot nodded. With a large grin, she said "Yep. In fact, he's probably doing it right now." Never having had the pleasure of seeing Terry Boot astounded, she relished such a sight with a bit of a giggle. "It's quite silly, really, but I wouldn't trade Hufflepuff for the world." His astounded gaze turned to one of curiosity as it settled on her.

"Hm," he said. He sounded like he wanted to say something.

"What?" Hannah prompted.

"Nothing," he replied. But after a few good moments, he admitted "I never thought I'd talk to someone who would say such a thing." Hannah blinked, feeling confused. "I mean about Hufflepuff. It's just…ironic I guess." At first, Hannah thought she'd be angry, but she couldn't help but agree. She never thought she'd be talking to a Ravenclaw so pleasantly either.

"Yeah," she agreed.

"Hannah, get your butt back in here, you won't believe it. Specks has got the Fat Friar doing…" however, the exclaiming voice of her friend Justin Finch-Fletchey drifted off into silence. That silence didn't last long. "Is this bookworm bothering you?" he asked.

"No, no! It's okay, Justin. I just came out for some air," Hannah replied, stammering only a little. Justin looked disbelieving. "I'm coming in, don't worry." Justin raised his eyebrows and shrugged walking back inside, leaving the door slightly ajar. Hannah turned back to face Terry but saw only his back as he walked down the hallway.

"Hey!" she cried and he stopped. Glancing at the door, she ran up to the Ravenclaw and withdrew something from her pocket. It was a very small parcel, one that could fit in the palm of Boot's hand. "This is for you." She pushed the present into the other's unsuspecting hand.

Looking down at his parcel, he glanced back up at her with a questionable gaze. "What's this?"

"Most people call it a gift," she said with a grin. Boot looked back down at his hand for a few moments before nodding and putting it in his pocket.

"Happy Christmas, Hannah Abbot," he said as he walked past her.

"Happy Christmas, Terry Boot," Hannah replied as she watched him walk down the rest of the hallway and disappear out of sight. With a happy grin, she hurried to the door to watch what on Earth Tristan Specks and the Fat Friar could be up to.

* * *

Hannah hated exams. She hated them so much she could practically scream! In fact, she was screaming, quite vocally "_Hate! Hate! Hate!" _as she marched down to her fate. It was a charms exam, and a rather important one, too.

She entered the classroom and mostly everyone was quiet, awaiting their doom. Once again, they were sharing the class with Ravenclaws and they sat on the right side of the room while Hufflepuffs sat on the left. Taking her seat next to Ernie, she found her hands shaking a bit nervously and she wished, for a moment, she could have something to nibble on. In a moment, she found her wish granted as Ernie pulled out a mint and handed it to her. Gratefully, she accepted it and popped it into her mouth.

Of course, she knew she was going to bomb this exam, even if it was a practical. It was just that she got so nervous! If she didn't get so nervous, she probably would do much better in class. As Flitwick entered, she took a deep breath and waited to be called on. The curse of her life was being a girl with an A last name followed by a B. Abbot. Who the hell could come before Abbot? Being first had its perks sometimes, but usually, it just meant that she'd make everyone feel better about themselves as she failed miserably. Ernie's hand rested on her shoulder comfortingly and she gave a shaky smile. Her eyes drifted past him a moment and saw Terry, looking at her strangely. His hand was gripping the table, knuckles white, and there was something in his eye that seemed a lot like anger. _Jealousy._ But she was probably imagining it. Ernie let go of her shoulder and Professor Flitwick called on her to begin the practical.

Taking a deep breath, she murmured the practiced spell, and presto-! Nothing happened to the feather. Instead, she found in her hand, not a wand, but a rubber chicken. Everyone stared in silence as she held her transformed wand out in front of her in awe. What the hell? And then she realized: that hadn't been her wand! She didn't have her wand! She hadn't come prepared for class! She was going to fail! Tears began to spur into her eyes and she was very close to leaving the classroom before she began to sob when a familiar haughty voice reached her ears.

"Wait, I found this on the floor," Terry Boot said, bending down and picking up the most beautiful thing in the world: her wand. "Here." Her wand was handed to her through a chain of people and when she felt it rest in her hands she nearly cried in relief. Her eyes held contact with Terry's, and she was surprised to find a slither of what seemed to be regret in his revealing, soft-blue eyes. She performed the exam with her correct wand with incredible ease, all the while feeling so stunned.

_Why did he give my wand back?_

* * *

Sitting in the library, Hannah was feeling all out of sorts. It was the sort of feeling that Potions always gave her, especially when she was in the same room as the greasy professor that governed the class. Right now, she had to study for yet another exam. While she thought she was bad at charms, she was absolutely horrible at Potions. Actually, to be honest, the only subject she was relatively good in was Care of Magical Creatures, and that was just because she liked animals.

Ready to call it quits for the night, she had begun putting her inkpot and quill away when the sound of footsteps came from behind. "Hi, Boot," she said, not letting herself get startled this time. However, when she turned around, she realized that it was just another seventh year, from Slytherin by the looks of it, getting a book from one of the shelves. Frowning a little, she looked around the student and at the other aisles from what she could see in her seat, but saw no one there. Shrugging, she turned back around only to be startled by Terry Boot sitting in the chair in front of her with his usual smug grin. "Damn it, stop doing that," she scolded in a harsh whisper.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he remarked flippantly. "What are you doing?"

"I _was_ doing homework, but now I'm packing up my stuff and going to bed," she replied, trying to sneak the parchment into her bag before Terry took a look at it. It was too late however, as when she picked it up, so did he. There was a bit of a tug-of-war before Hannah gave up and let Terry take it.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Potions," she sighed with an air of defeat. Terry looked stunned.

"Really? But this is-," Hannah cut him off.

"I know it's crap, okay? I'm just not very good at this stuff so please leave me alone." She held out her hand to take back the homework. However, Terry stayed quiet, looking at the papers in concentration.

"No, it's actually not that bad, you just mixed some things up," he said. Hannah looked surprised.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Terry waved his hand that she should come over to look at it. Hannah got up without a protest and walked over to look over his shoulder.

"Well, sometimes you put 'Shrinking Potion' instead of 'Strengthening Potion.' I think it's just because your mind is wandering when you write. You just have to focus a bit more. And some of your points are a little weak. If you add a little more information behind your reasoning, your paper will flow much better."

Terry handed the paper back to her. "You have really nice penmanship," he added.

Hannah blinked. "I do? Oh, um, thanks," she felt her cheeks begin to flush. For a moment, it seemed like he was going to smile but instead he nodded and was starting to get up. "Oh! And, um, Boot?"

"Yes?" he asked.

"I, uh," she wanted to thank him for giving her wand back for the exam, but couldn't find the right words to say anything. Instead, she just told him, "Thank you for helping me. I can't seem to understand anything." She knew that it sounded like she was searching for pity which made her flinch a bit at how pathetic she really sounded. She tried hurrying up the packing of her satchel, but her fingers were fumbling everything. _Wonderful_ she thought to herself, cursing her clumsiness as she dropped a bunch of parchment unto the floor. She was surprised, however, when it turned out that Terry had still been standing there and bent down to help her pick them up. When she'd started to get up, however, Terry took her wrist. His hand was warm and a little rough. The touch made her heart jump and she looked up at him with a start.

"Everyone needs a little help sometimes, Hannah Abbot," he said quietly. "Don't think less of yourself because of that." Hannah bit her lip and looked down at the hand that was holding hers down. She looked up again at his short laugh. "After all, it takes all the patience in the world to get me to pass Care of Magical Creatures."

Eyes widened, she replied, "You have trouble in Mr. Hagrid's class?" Terry nodded sadly. "But why?!"

"I don't know. I just don't get how people deal with animals so calmly. Any moment, they can pounce on you and bite you and kill you," he said, obviously having thought about this before.

"I don't think that's the way to look at it," she said quietly. "Well, I mean, sure they can bite. They can tackle you, pin you down, rip out your throat if they really wanted to, but they're not half as scary as people are."

"What on Earth-why do you think that?" Terry asked sounding astounded by such a ridiculous thought.

"Simple," Hannah said, "They don't really hate anybody, do they?"

At that moment, a loud noise was heard as both of them peaked over their table to see the famous Harry Potter storm in with an equally agitated Draco Malfoy.

"Get out of my way, Potter," Malfoy sneered.

"Oh get a life!" Harry replied.

"Shhhhh!" Madame Pince interjected.

"It's not like you're actually going to study in here anyway. Why don't you go back to your stupid little Gryffindors and sign autographs."

"I have NEWTs to study for, just like you do Malfoy. You don't have to study with me, you know."

"Good, I don't want to!"

"Good!"

"Fine, I'll just study over here!"

"Fine!"

"FINE!"

"SHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSHHHHHHH!" Madame Pince cried.

"Madame Pince, could you please be quiet, I'm trying to study," Anthony Goldstein requested, near the librarian's desk, surrounded by many tomes and parchments. Madame Pince crawled under her desk to beg for some god to take her away from this awful castle filled with children. Anthony smiled at the quiet that was restored.

Terry and Hannah looked back at each other and burst into fits of laughter at what had just happened. They continued to talk quietly under the table before, finally, the last call to go to bed was made and all of the students vacated the library, though Terry and Hannah lingered just a little longer in the hallway, glancing back at each other before hurrying off to bed.

* * *

Hannah had been doing her rounds through the school, making sure that everyone was safe in their dorms. Unfortunately, she had Astronomy Tower duty, which meant that she'd have to break up the couples from their loving trysts. Hannah sighed. Oh, she wished she could be one of those girls who she caught every time she had duty. They were the girls that had boys at their beck and call; boys that they would reject at the sight of better meat. If Hannah could have a boyfriend, she would make sure she'd never lead them on. She laughed self-depreciatingly: _if _she would get a boyfriend. It was a hopeful phrase. However, all that the _what ifs_ felt like a smack in Hannah's face.

She had the misfortune to pass some reflective glass on the way up to the tower and stopped, looking at herself. Biting her bottom lip, she took a piece of limp blonde hair and tucked it behind her ear. Looking down, then looking back at the reflection, she sighed at her weight. Of course, she never talked about it and moaned about it like other girls in her year; girls that didn't even deserve to complain about their weight. From her rosy, rounded cheeks to her pants size, she knew she wasn't petite. Oh, sure, it'd be nice if she were, but she knew more than to hope. Tugging at one of her pig-tails absent-mindedly she thought momentarily of Terry Boot gazing at her before quickly banishing it from her thoughts, straightening out her prefect pin, and continuing her journey up the stairs.

She was met with no couples, thank Heaven. Checking everywhere, just to be sure, she confirmed that there was no one up in the tower as of yet. Of course, it was a Wednesday night, so there would probably be no one up here tonight. She let herself linger in the room looking around it with a smile. She loved how beautiful things were up here, the moonlight made everything look luminescent in the room, and shards of glass hung from the ceiling creating sparkling lights that danced on the walls. It was no wonder this place was the hot spot for young love. She went to the window and opened it, and felt a chill run down her back at the cold weather outside. Wrapping her arms around herself to warm herself up, she stared up at the stars, and let out a soft sigh of contentment to be seeing them so clearly.

"Slacking on the job, I see," said a familiar voice. Hannah jumped and felt goose bumps rush down her arms and her back all the way to her legs at the shock. Turning around, she saw Terry Boot leaning against the doorframe, looking very amused indeed.

"At least I'm _supposed_ to be up here," she replied. "Go to bed, Boot," she muttered, feeling a bit embarrassed now for reacting so extremely before.

"It's not my fault I got lost," Boot replied, not moving. Hannah rolled her eyes. If he hadn't been able to figure out where his own common room was by now, she would really question how intelligent these Ravenclaws were these days. Instead, she snorted and turned away from the other, expecting him to go away.

She nearly jumped again when a voice whispered only a few feet from her, "Do you like to star-gaze?"

Turning her head, she saw that the soft-blue gaze was resting solely on her, and when she licked her lips, his eyes darted to her wet, pink tongue which immediately slipped back into her mouth in surprise. When she spoke, her voice was slightly higher, "Um, yeah, who doesn't right?" He was looking at her with such an intense look that she didn't know what to do with herself, so she blurted out. "It was nice what you did in class the other day." Boot blinked at her a few times, as if he'd forgotten. "You know, I mean I know you switched my wand and all, but you didn't have to give me my own wand back." She bit her lip and silently scolded herself to be quiet.

It seemed to spur his memory however. "Of course I gave you your wand back. I didn't want you to fail the exam, what kind of Ravenclaw would I be then?" he asked. Hannah smiled a little before turning her gaze back to the outdoors. She shivered a little from the cold wind snapping into the window. Her goose bumps again became more pronounced and she found her teeth chattering a little. Again the boy surprised her, for she felt a warmth cover her. When she turned to look, she saw him resting his cloak across her shoulders, and she took it with a grateful smile. Silently, they looked out the window.

"I was thinking," Hannah said suddenly. "I was thinking that maybe we-," but she stopped as she turned around and saw that there was nobody there. Biting her lip, she looked around the room vaguely, then with a sigh she shut the window and took Boot's cloak with her as she went about to finish the rest of her rounds.

* * *

Hannah came back down from the astronomy tower feeling a bit weird. She still had Terry's cloak around her shoulders as she descended through the school to get to her common room. When she finally reached it and said the password to get inside, she saw that Ernie was waiting inside for her. Ernie looked up, quickly furrowing his brow in confusion for the additional cloak on her shoulders. Her cheeks flushed but she went to sit beside her best friend anyway.

"What's this?" Ernie asked, taking some of the cloak between his fingers. It was a rather warm cloak, and seemed very well made. Hannah's blush didn't leave her cheeks as she looked down, playing with the cloak as well.

"It got cold in the Astronomy Tower," she said vaguely.

"Whose is it?" he asked.

Hannah bit her lip. "I'll tell you, but you must promise not to get angry." Ernie blinked then nodded. "It's Terry Boot's."

"Terry Boot?!" Ernie exclaimed. Hannah hushed him with her finger and looked around. No one else was in the common room and it didn't sound like anyone had been disturbed beyond the two dormitory doors. "But he's a Ravenclaw? You didn't steal it did you?" he sounded very disapproving.

"No, of course not. He gave it to me. Honestly." Hannah was getting more offended then necessary, if only to cover the fact that she was a bit nervous that her friend would be disappointed in her for fraternizing with the enemy.

"Alright. Wait, he's out after hours? He's not a prefect," Ernie said, feeling a bit stern. Hannah quickly grabbed his arms and put her most beseeching look on her face.

"Ernie, don't get him in trouble! He gave me his cloak after all, and he left quickly afterwards. I'm sure he's in bed now." Ernie was fighting an internal battle of whether to let it go or to enforce the rules of the school. Hannah, however, seemed to be desperate that the boy not get in trouble, and that was a bit more important than staying up a bit past curfew.

"Alright, I'll let it go this time, only if you tell me what this relationship between you and Terry Boot is." Hannah pulled away from him a little, relieved that Terry would be getting off the hook.

"It isn't anything," she said with a shrug. At the doubtful look on Ernie's face, she sighed. "Alright, well we've been talking recently."

"Just talking?" he asked.

"Yes, of course just talking," Hannah replied, flustered. "We've been becoming friends I think." Ernie's eyes widened and she shook her head. "I don't really know how it happened actually. We just, we've been playing pranks on each other and…and I don't know! We are friends though, I think."

Ernie was quiet. He thought he knew everything that went on in Hannah's world, but he supposed that sometimes, even best friends have secrets from each other. His gaze had drifted away from Hannah and when he turned to look at her again, she had the queerest expression on her face. Her eyes seemed to be glistening with some sort of emotion that he rarely saw on the girl's face as she looked down at the cloak, a true sort of affection that ran deeper than friendship. "Do you like him?" he asked.

"Of course, I do. I just told you that," she said, laughing a little at her friend's forgetfulness.

"No, not that. I mean do you _like_ him?" Hannah looked a bit stunned for a moment then turned her gaze to stare at the rug on the floor as she contemplated it. Did she like him like that? Of course she thought him very good looking, but did she really like him? Thinking about it, she did realize how she felt butterflies in her stomach and her cheeks burn whenever he glanced at her. Perhaps she did like him.

"I don't know. Maybe," was the only reply she could give her friend. After they said goodnight and went to their respective dormitories, Hannah thought about the prospect of having a crush on Terry Boot, and for some inexplicable reason, it wasn't that bad of a feeling. She went to bed, instead of thinking of a faceless boy kissing her goodnight, she imagined Terry Boot doing just the same. She fell asleep, feeling warmer than she had for many nights.

* * *

Terry was walking down the corridors to go to breakfast with Michael. The day was so cold that even the castle walls were frozen, making the air around the castle a bit chillier than usual. Everyone was wearing their cloaks. Well, everyone other than Terry Boot. However, he couldn't help but feel warm, for some inexplicable reason, by the thought of the girl who was wearing his cloak last night.

"You look rather cheerful for a man who's going to freeze his arse off," his friend remarked, wondering what Terry was thinking about. Terry wasn't one for smiling, and to watch him do so made Michael wonder what exactly caused such an event. Immediately, the smile went away and was replaced by his usual scoffing look.

"Yes, well they say that if you're happy, you'll be warm. I'm merely trying to feign some sort of happy emotion to achieve warmth." Terry explained. Michael rolled his eyes.

"If you really wanted warmth, you'd have put your cloak on," he said, sounding a bit like he was patronizing a child. "Now, come on, who'd you give the cloak to?"

"I didn't give it to anyone," Terry replied, sounding very intent that his friend believe him, which of course he didn't.

"It must be someone that you don't want to admit to. Is it someone really ugly?" his friend ventured to guess.

"No! She's not-shit," Terry said, cursing his immediate need to defend Hannah to his best friend.

"Alright, so she's not ugly," Michael said with a grin that looked far too much like the Cheshire Cat to let Terry feel at ease in any way. "If she's not ugly then it must not be anything about her as a person that makes you so quiet. So it must be something else." He pondered a moment. "Is she a Death Eater?"

"Stop it. I'm not telling you who it is, alright? Just drop it." Of course, his friend still was adamant that he find out who this person was.

"Okay, I'm narrowing it down now. I'm guessing it's not a Gryffindor because we rarely associate with them…so…" Michael's eyes widened. "She's a Hufflepuff!"

"Shh!" Terry urged, grabbing the boy by his shoulders and pushing him into an alcove as a bunch of Ravenclaw girls passed by. When they were long gone, he sighed and let go of his friend as they went back out into the hallway.

"A Hufflepuff? Really, Terry I thought you had more taste than that," Michael said, sounding a bit disappointed.

"It's not anything anyway, Corner. She was cold and shivering the other day and I just happened to be nice enough to lend my coat. Get over yourself."

"Well then, if it was just something stupid like that, then why didn't you tell me that to begin with?"

"Because it's none of your business."

"Then, since I know almost all of it anyway, who was it?"

"Hi Terry." Terry winced. He could recognize that voice anywhere. Oh damn, damn, damn, why did she have to come up to him now? Turning around, he saw Hannah Abbot, pink cheeked and bright eyed staring up at Terry with a smile.

"Hi," he said shortly, hoping she'd get the idea to back off. She didn't, however, stupid Hufflepuff.

"Um, I just wanted to thank you for last night," she said, glancing at Michael Corner who was snickering under his hand. Frowning a little she looked back at Terry who was looking at her, not with the curious, thoughtful look of last night but instead with the look of disdain that she remembered being a target of before the holidays.

"Yes, well, I hope you got your use out of it," he said, sounding rather bored. Hannah blinked.

"Um, I did. Thanks," Then her eyes widened. "Oh! Right! Here," she said, going into her bag and pulling out the cloak that she'd folded as best as she could. Ernie helped her with an anti-wrinkling charm which seemed to work as the cloak unfolded looking as if it had just been dry-cleaned and hung in a closet. "It's a really nice cloak."

"I would hope so with the amount of money my family paid for it," Terry remarked, silently cursing Michael's insistent presence and the faltering confidence in Hannah's eyes. He knew that he couldn't be friendly with Hannah if he didn't want it to spread around Ravenclaw. He was known for being cold and calculating, and such a thing as giving Hannah Abbot his cloak because she looked cold and that he would do anything just to give some warm color to her cheeks was not permitted.

"Oh, it was expensive? I'm sorry, I'm glad I gave it back now then. I wouldn't want to keep it from you, especially on such a cold day!" she was still trying, damn it. He had to dart his eyes away to keep from breaking as he glanced at his friend who was giving him the go ahead to shut her down. This was no time to be hesitant. He thinned his lips and accepted the cloak with a nod.

"Excuse me, Miss Abbot, but we are going to be late for breakfast," he said, brushing past her. It took a few moments for both his friend and Hannah to understand what had just happened. Michael came to first and, with a glance at the stunned girl, he hurried after his friend. Hannah merely stared after them, trying to figure out what had just happened until finally, she turned the other way. She decided that she needed some time alone in the kitchens to think this out.

"You gave it to Hannah Abbot?!" Michael Corner exclaimed once he reached his friend, which had taken quite a few moments due to his short legs and Terry's incredibly long ones.

"Yes, isn't that rather obvious?" Terry said, sounding a bit short with his temper.

"Why did you blow her off?" Michael asked. "Seemed like there was more to it than just giving her a cloak, Terry."

"Stay out of the business that isn't yours, Corner," Terry warned with a bit of a bark behind his voice. However, Michael had dealt with enough of Terry's cruel manner when he was mad to know that it was just a way for him to try to get away with things. Michael wasn't allowing it this time.

"You know," Michael said slowly, "Hannah Abbot isn't the worst girl you could be with."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Terry interrupted, but his friend went on as if he hadn't spoken.

"Even though she's a Hufflepuff, she's got some spark to her. She can pull some of the most ingenious pranks I've ever seen from Hufflepuff. She doesn't seem to be whiny like the other ones either. Looks-wise? Well, I mean, I usually go for the skinnier girls myself, but she's not…she's not what I would call fat." Michael contemplated this a moment. "No, she's more…I don't know, but it's nothing hideous to look at, Terry. I wouldn't be surprised if she comes out of school and, maybe in three years, really becomes sexy."

Terry turned and looked at his best friend, slightly incredulous. "You're saying you wouldn't care if I went out with a Hufflepuff?"

Michael Corner knew that he had his point made by the look in Terry's eyes, desperate for such a thing to be okay yet afraid to do anything about it. "I wouldn't care as long as you're happy. I mean, we dealt with Cho Chang and her fling with Diggory, didn't we? But, the question is, does it matter to you?"

Terry remained quiet for the rest of the walk to the Great Hall.

* * *

The days that followed the encounter in the hallway were insignificant. Hannah and Ernie went to classes, ate meals, did homework, complained about teachers, and for the most part everything was normal. And ever since the encounter, the only thing that changed from earlier that year until now was that there were no more pranks. Ever since that strange day when Hannah came across Terry to return his cloak and he'd shunned her, she had barely glanced at the boy. It couldn't stop him from being on her mind though.

She thought they were friends. After all, they'd made it through most of the year without any sort of horrible clashing. They'd even laughed in the library together. What had she done to make him so mad as to ignore her? Hannah missed being able to be friends with the handsome boy, to laugh with him and talk to him like he and her were old friends. And what was worse, she realized something else.

She _missed_ the pranks. She missed having something to look forward to, and she wondered if she just went the distance to bridge that gap again and put a Fainting Fancy in Terry's pocket or _something _that maybe everything would be okay. Hell, she was sure it didn't even have to be clever, she just needed to come up with something, but her mind was blank! It was like it had given up, and no matter how hard she tried to fight the blankness and find inspiration, it was like ramming her head into a brick wall multiple times a day.

Ernie, of course, noticed this change in behavior. The first thing he noticed was the fact that Hannah was not eating half as much as normal. Not that she was a pig, mind you. It was just that she was a healthy girl who ate well, and seeing her not eat was a clear sign something was off. She also went quiet a lot and stared off at the other table. She hadn't mentioned Terry Boot since the night that he caught her with his cloak. Ernie had tried bringing it up once, but she went very quiet and had went to bed early instead of answering him. He reached out and took Hannah's hand.

Snapping out of her funk for a moment, she turned to Ernie who was looking concerned. "Hannah, are you okay?" he asked.

"Of course I am, Ernie," she said with a smile. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know," he said after a while and then they broke apart and ate their lunch. Ernie was searching for something to say to Hannah when he finally came across an idea. "So, have you come up with anything new to prank the Ravenclaws with?" He didn't expect to see Hannah's face become confused.

"I…no, I haven't," she said, pushing away from the table and standing up. "I'm going to get to class early and get us some decent seats, okay?"

"Hannah," he said, reaching out and grabbing her wrist in a gentle hold. "I'll come with you," he said.

"No!" she blurted. At the hurt look on Ernie's face, she softened her voice. "No, it's okay Ernie. I just kind of want to be alone for now." She kissed Ernie's cheek and then set off out of the Great Hall. Ernie watched as, a few minutes afterwards, Terry Boot trailed after her.

_What's going on?_ Ernie wondered.

* * *

"You and your boyfriend get in a fight?" a voice asked from behind her as she sat, alone, in the Transfigurations classroom.

"Don't you ever learn you shouldn't sneak up on people?" she replied as she turned, but flushed at the look that Boot gave her. "And what do you mean, boyfriend?"

"Macmillan, of course," he said, expelling a forceful breath. "Who else would I be talking about?"

"I don't know, since he's not my boyfriend," Hannah replied, confused. From the looks of it, Terry was confused too. _He can even manage to look sexy when he's confused, this is so unfair. _

"You don't-you two aren't dating?" Boot asked, sounding far too surprised. Hannah snorted.

"Honestly, if you knew anything, you'd know that me and him are best friends," she rolled her eyes starting to turn around to face the front again.

"Does that mean you don't have a boyfriend?" he asked quietly after a few minutes. Slowly Hannah turned.

"Why?" she asked slowly.

"Just wondering," he said, non-chalantly. For some reason, that pushed Hannah's buttons and she felt herself getting a bit flustered.

"Well, no. I don't have a boyfriend, thank you for rubbing it in." She wished class would start soon. Unfortunately, it seemed that her luck wasn't forthcoming and it still remained her and Terry Boot alone in the transfiguration classroom.

"Why?" he asked, sounding less insecure of his words and more curious. Hannah didn't turn around.

"Why what?"

"Why don't you have a boyfriend?"

The words washed off of Hannah's brain as she once again turned to face Boot, this time standing much like he was.

"What?" she asked.

"Why don't you have a boyfriend?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I just do."

"Well, tough. What makes you think I'll tell you, anyway."

"You will."

Hannah crossed her arms. "How?"

"Most likely with words."

Hannah smacked her lips in irritation. "Leave me alone."

"But you didn't answer my question."

"I don't want to answer your question."

"Why not?"

"Because you don't need to know, you-you-,"

"You what?"

"I don't know! I don't know, okay, just stop."

"Stop what?"

"Stop this!" she said waving her arms about the room to exhibit their conversation. "Why are you asking me all these questions?"

"Because I want to know."

"Well you don't deserve to know."

"Why don't you have a boyfriend, Hannah Abbot?"

"** I. Don't. Know!**" she finally screamed. She felt tears come to her eyes and cursed, for the millionth time, her tendency to break down at a whim.

"…Aw, look at the Hufflepuff cry…"

"…Her face is so puffy, it makes her look even bigger…"

"…Pathetic little girl…"

Hannah and Terry both looked at the people peeking into the classroom whispering amongst themselves. In the crowd was none other than Pansy Parkinson, the extraordinaire at making people's lives far less likeable than they could be.

"Aw, look at the little baby. She doesn't have a boyfriend does she? Wondering why she doesn't have a boyfriend isn't she? Well, it's because she's an overgrown, blubbering whale who cries whenever things don't go her way." Pansy sneered. "I can just imagine what it'd be like for you, Abbot, if you were in Slytherin. I bet you couldn't last five seconds before crying for your mummy-but wait! Oh right, your mum _died_ didn't she, mudblood?"

The whole speech of utmost cruelty rankled through both of the teens standing there. The silence in the room was palpable, until it was broken by the transfiguration teacher that was entering the room.

"What is this? Why are we all crowded around my door? Wait, you aren't in my class this period Ms. Parkinson. What-," but she didn't get to ask any other questions before Hannah ran out of the classroom, humiliated beyond belief, leaving the boy who unintentionally caused the torment staring at the door she had just exited.

This was a moment in Terry Boot's life that he didn't know what to do. He was a Ravenclaw. Ravenclaws were supposed to be studious and haughty, not jumping to the rescue of damsels. He wondered where the hell the Gryffindors were off to during all this. With a deeply felt sigh, he sat in his seat and rested his head on the top of his books. He heard his friend, Michael Corner, sit down next to him but they didn't make any conversation for the first few minutes. When class began, the room was mostly silent, except for the curious few who looked about themselves and whispered requests for recounts of what happened.

When McGonagall set them up to turn a mouse into a sword, Michael Corner elbowed Terry in the ribs, but he ignored it. After the fifth elbow to his side, he angrily whispered "What?"

"Nothing," Michael replied, "except I suspect you've done something by the murderous look being sent your way by half of Hufflepuff." Terry Boot looked up and was surprised to find all of the other side of the room, sparing a few, glaring at him with a fierce intensity.

"Well I don't know why they're staring at me. I didn't do anything," he whispered back and tried to focus on his work. However, he felt one particular pair of eyes on him and glanced up to see Ernie Macmillan. He wasn't looking at him in disgust like the other Hufflepuffs were. No, he was much worse, looking at Terry with a kind of disappointment. He didn't know how much Ernie knew about he and Hannah becoming friends. It was apparent, however, that he knew something of it at least. Terry looked away.

Again he attempted to concentrate on his task. As a Ravenclaw, he should be able to concentrate without fail. He should be used to working with interruptions. However, his mind was uneasy and his hand didn't seem to want to still as it aimed itself in the mouse's direction. He was slightly startled with an origami swan that flew unto his desk, somehow escaping the notice of the professor. Glancing around, he picked up the bit of paper and it opened in his hand. It read:

_She's probably in the kitchens. Do what you feel is right._

It wasn't signed, but Terry had a feeling he knew who the culprit of the note was. Ernie, however, was working on his own rodent, seemingly oblivious to whatever Terry was doing. With a few moments of deliberation, he raised his hand and excused himself to the restroom. Instead, he turned down the right hallway, down a flight of stairs, across a long corridor and found himself looking at the entryway to the kitchens. Tickling the pear, he entered the kitchen quietly. He heard the soft sounds of crying amongst the banging of pots and pans as the house-elves, for the most part, ignored his entrance.

The time hardly managed to pass a few moments before he found the source of the sniffling. Hannah Abbot was curled in a ball, stuffing herself in a corner between one of the unused stoves and a cabinet. Now that he was here, however, he didn't know what he should say. A Ravenclaw wasn't meant to deal with crying girls, especially when the prospect of dealing with one was so outrageous for the more bookish men of Hogwarts that they usually were forced to use their inhalers. For once, he couldn't find something witty or sophisticated to say to the girl.

"Um, Hannah?" he finally said with a bit of shakiness in his tone, unused to such a situation. Hannah startled and looked up at him then moaned.

"You always manage to find me," she whimpered, unable to stop her crying as much as she tried in front of the boy. "Leave me alone."

"I don't want to."

"Oh," Hannah replied, looking confused. Then her teary eyes hardened. "Is it because you want to laugh at me more? Go ahead! I'm sure you're all…" she found herself crying again and, once again, Terry was at a loss. Bending down, he crawled over to her, kneeling before her feet. "Why do you hate me?"

"Hate you?" Terry asked, surprised.

"You obviously must!" she said, feeling a bit desperate. "You don't talk to me for weeks and then you corner me and…Pansy Parkinson-," again she stopped to regain her cool. Her eyes reopened to something much more hurt than Terry expected. "Did you and her plan to-," but Terry knew where this was going. Entirely offended at the thought he waved his hands in front of her desperately.

"No! No, that's not what happened at all." Hannah quieted and looked at him suspiciously. "I just…I wanted to," he bit his lip. He'd listened to the Ravenclaw girls talk about romance before, and how they fell in love with their boyfriends. Terry didn't really know anything about love. He wasn't used to experiencing anything that went without a specific formula, without a list or reactions and cures. Love wasn't like that. There wasn't a counteracting ingredient that you could imbibe to stop falling for a boy or a girl. All that love offered was the chance that while you're falling, someone might catch you. The chances of that were so unappealing to Terry that he didn't pay any mind to attend to such things as romance.

But he realized that since the first day he'd noticed Hannah Abbot, really noticed her, there was something that set off inside of him. A bomb, a ticking bomb merrily counting the moments until his heart would overflow and either he would drown in the aftermath, or rise above it stronger and with the girl by his side. Did he love her, he wondered. Could he love this girl? The word "yes" shouted at him in a million different voices in his head. This girl that he'd hurt so much by hiding himself away to protect himself, and that he had left open and wounded for another person to tear apart.

There was nothing else to it. Hannah Abbot, staring at him so quiet and queer after facing the wrath of hell: hair in pigtails, eyes and cheeks red with sadness, was the most beautiful girl he'd ever known. He reached a hand out to her and she, slowly, looking confused, put her hand in his. He tried to swallow down the emotion that was building up inside of him from the scary realizations that he'd just come to in such a short span of time, and only managed to do so with a bit of a whimpering sound. Hannah looked worried, but before she could vocalize her concern, Terry leaned in. There were many things that a Ravenclaw wouldn't do. For instance, they would stay calm in any situation, retaining a sense of distance and caution. It wouldn't be protocol to feel warmth fill him from his head to his toes as his lips latched unto Hannah's.

But then, Hannah Abbot's lips reacted to his and he reckoned that it was okay to not follow Ravenclaw Standards, just this once. He reached his hand up to cup Hannah's moist, round cheek and pressed further. His tongue begged entrance into her mouth and in a moment he was inside of her mouth, exploring the caverns of the mouth that he'd craved to touch if only in his deepest dreams.

When they ran out of breath between them, they pulled away slowly. Both of their eyes had closed during the kiss and when they opened they simply stared at each other for a moment. It was a quiet, profound moment that both of them knew they would remember, as the sudden realization of their strong attraction for each other sunk into both of their brains. And then, Hannah Abbot smiled the largest smile that Terry Boot had ever seen the girl smile.

It was the best feeling in the world to know that he'd helped put it there.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

Terry was confused. Did Hannah think that the kiss had just been sympathy? Suddenly, he was so desperate to ward her away from such a falsehood that he nearly jumped to correct her.

"Hannah, don't think that I did that because I pitied you. I could hardly do that." Then he added thoughtfully. "I wouldn't miss out on a very important Transfigurations class just for pity." Hannah's smile was watery but warm in return.

"No," she assured. "That's not why I'm thanking you."

"Oh? Why then?"

Hannah's smile didn't waver in the least. "Thanks for giving me the time to pull off my prank." Terry's eyes widened a fraction but then he looked down. His once pressed, black slacks were now pajama bottoms with pink bunnies hopping across them. In shock, he stared as two of the rabbits began participating in some rather questionable activity on his thigh. Feeling quite indignant, he set about covering himself with his long robes when she stopped him with a warm, soft hand on his arm. He looked up to see her twinkling eyes gazing back at him in a way that could only be defined as adoring: cautious, but adoring.

She leaned in to kiss him again, and Terry decided that perhaps it was okay to deal with the rabbits. At least, he reckoned, it was okay for now.

* * *

Obviously we were unsure of the way it happened, or why it happened, but all that matters is that it happened: the Raven fell in love with the Badger. And this was good.

"HANNAH! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO MY CLOAK?!"

"Hee-hee-hee-hee-heeeee!!"

Well, it was pretty funny, anyway.

Fin.

**Ending Author's Note:** I had so much fun writing this story. I am not planning a sequel to this story as of yet. Please review!

* * *


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